Skip to main content

A Theory of Racialized Organizations

Item

Title
A Theory of Racialized Organizations
Abstract/Description
Organizational theory scholars typically see organizations as race-neutral bureaucratic structures, while race and ethnicity scholars have largely neglected the role of organizations in the social construction of race. The theory developed in this article bridges these subfields, arguing that organizations are racial structures—cognitive schemas connecting organizational rules to social and material resources. I begin with the proposition that race is constitutive of organizational foundations, hierarchies, and processes. Next, I develop four tenets: (1) racialized organizations enhance or diminish the agency of racial groups; (2) racialized organizations legitimate the unequal distribution of resources; (3) Whiteness is a credential; and (4) the decoupling of formal rules from organizational practice is often racialized. I argue that racialization theory must account for how both state policy and individual attitudes are filtered through—and changed by—organizations. Seeing race as constitutive of organizations helps us better understand the formation and everyday functioning of organizations. Incorporating organizations into a structural theory of racial inequality can help us better understand stability, change, and the institutionalization of racial inequality. I conclude with an overview of internal and external sources of organizational change and a discussion of how the theory of racialized organizations may set the agenda for future research.
Author/creator
Ray, Victor
Date
2019
In publication
American Sociological Review
Volume
84
Issue
1
Pages
26-53
Resource type
en Background/Context
Medium
en Print
Background/context type
en Conceptual
Keywords
agency
organizational theory
racism
critical race theory
race and ethnicity
IRE Approach/Concept
Organizational Theory
Critical Race Theory
Equity
Language
en
ISSN
0003-1224
DOI
10.1177/0003122418822335
URL
https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122418822335
Citation
Ray, V. (2019). A Theory of Racialized Organizations. American Sociological Review, 84(1), 26–53. https://doi.org/10.1177/0003122418822335
Cited in
Introducing Improvement Research in Education
Scholarship genre
en Theoretical
Abbreviation
Am Sociol Rev
Item sets
IRE Handbook Introduction Citation

Linked resources

Items with "Cites: A Theory of Racialized Organizations"
Title Class
Introducing Improvement Research in Education Book Chapter

Export

Comments

No comment yet! Be the first to add one!

I agree with terms of use and I accept to free my contribution under the licence CC BY-SA.

New Tags

I agree with terms of use and I accept to free my contribution under the licence CC BY-SA.